L-shaped wall protector



Jan. 23, 1951 w. L. ALSTON 2,538,743

L-SHAPED WALL PROTECTOR Filed. Nov. 1, 1947 INVENTOR WILLIAM L. ALSTON Patented Jan. 23, 1951 UNITED STAT L=SHAPED WALLIQQTECTOR' WilliamL. Alston, Charleston, w. vs. Application November 1, 1947., Serial o. 733,554

This invention relates to devices for protecting walls from being smeared and spattered during the cleaning of the adjacent woodwork. In

ordinary building construction the base boards,

. door frames, window frames, wainscoting, and

the like, are constructed of wood or metal and are painted with an oil paint which iscustomarily "cleaned by washing, while the adjacent wall surface is frequently papered or otherwise so finished that it cannot be washed orwi-ped with 'a damp cloth without showing smears and stains.

In cleaning woodwork adjacent walls which are so finished great care has to be exercised to avoid smearing the adjacent wall sur-' face, and in rooms where the woodwork is frequently washed or cleaned with a damp cloth,

there is often a streak of discoloration along the adjacent wallsurface'which greatly detracts from the appearance'of the room. This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No.

I 757,863, 'filedJuhe 28, 1947, andnow-abandoned.

The object of "the present invention is to provide a simple shield which can be-readil-y used by the cleaner to protect the wall surface adjacent the woodwork during the cleaning operation and thus prevent the formation of the s-streaks' labovermentioned. The instrument :not"

only protects the wall against injury, but also speeds up the cleaning process.

In the" accompanying drawings I have illustrated several preferred forms of my improved wall protector. In the-said drawings: I

Fig. 1 illustrates'inperspective the preferred form of "my improved protector in use;

Fig.2 is a sectional view on line 2.-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred form of my-improved protector by itself;

4 -is a perspective view of a modified form of protector; and V Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a second modified formthereof. a i

My' improved protector I consists primarily of a long thin strip I of metal, plastic or other material suificiently rigid to be self-sustaining in lengths of approximately two to two and onehalf feet. In the articles illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the strip I is of sheet metal, for example, and is about 4% inches wide and 26 inches long. In the article illustrated in Fig. 4, the strip is of the same length and width, but of plastic about inch thick. These dimensions are, however, not critical, but have been found satisfactory for a protector used in the routine daily cleaning of oflice buildings.

In the articles illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 3 Claims. (01 iii-ts "5 the strip i has at nearly at right angles to the main portionof the one end an extension 2 strip. The extension 2 is preferably five or six 'inches'in length As will be later explained, the angle a between the parts is preferablys'lightl-y greaterthan anex act right angle.

In the preferredform of protector illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the'strips I and 2 have turned down edge portions'as indicated at 4. These edge portions i are bent outward from the plane of strips I "and-2a relatively small angle, say 20-30 degrees, and form bearing edges exerting edge pressure against the wall, as shown in Fig. 1, when an outward pressure is applied to strips I and 2 through handle -5. This edge pressure makes the protector more certain in operation than is the case when the handle pressure is evenly distributed over the outer faces of strips I and 2. Moreover, as shown at A in Figs. 1 and 3; the edge portions I on strips I and 2 may be discontinuous. The protector in this form may be made of either metal or of plastic of suitable composition, but should be'resilient and yet of suflicient rigidity to be longitudinally "stable and to spring as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 enough to conform to the wall surfaces and exert the desired edge pressure;

The strip 1' is provided with a handle 5 by m'eans of which the protector may be firmly held in place with one hand while theadja'cent woodwork is cleaned with a clothin the other hand. The handle may be of any suitable construction and as shown consists of a U-shaped piece of metal with interposed base pieces Ii attached to the upper face of the strip 1 by means of screws I with countersunk heads which pass through the strip I from the under side through base pieces 8 and into the ends of the handle.

{)n the angle type protectors shown in Figs. '1, 2, 3 and 5, the handle is preferably made substantially coextensive in length with strip I o avoid awkward arm positions in changing from right to 'left hand corners.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the protector in use during the cleaning of a baseboard at the corner of a room. The protector is held firmly against the wall above the baseboard with one turned down edge against the baseboard. The portion of the baseboard corresponding to the length of the strip I is then cleaned with the cleaning cloth, and turned down edge sealing against the wall and permitting the edge of the baseboard to be cleaned throughout its width without the cloth contacting the adjacent wall surface. When so held the part 2 lies against the face of the adjacent wall above the baseboard and protects the wall so that the corner may be thoroughly cleaned without danger of damaging the wall.

As stated above, edge portions 4 on strips l and 2 may be separate so that if the plastered walls do not make a sharp corner, as is usually the case, the extension 2 may nevertheless be pressed firmly against the adjacent wall. For the samereason the angle a between the extension 2 and the strip l is preferably somewhat greater than an exact right angle, say 95-105 degrees, and the material of thestrip is suf-.

ficiently resilient for the extension 2 to bend somewhat with respect to the strip 1. Hence; if the two plastered surfaces at the corner are not exactly at right angles to each other, the protector will accommodate itself to the irregularity. The protector is moved along the baseboard as the-cleaning-continues, which operation may be carried on rapidly without danger of smearing the wall.

During the cleaning of the wall between the corners the extension 2 serves as a stop to prevent the cleaner from moving his cloth or brush beyond the portion of the baseboard where the adjacent wall is covered by the strip I.

My improved protector may be made without the extension 2, as shown in Fig. 4. In this form of protector, strip I is made of greater thickness than in the previous form and has no turneddown edge portion 4. The advantage of edge pressure is thus lost, but complete cleaning of the top of the baseboard is assured by the bevel 3. Without strip 2, only one edge of the strip I need be beveled and the handle 5 may be very much shorter without disadvantage and may also be placed near the unbeveled edge to allow more space between the handle and the adjacent woodwork. This form of protector may be made very cheaply of inexpensive plastic, for example, and is quite useful in protecting the walls adjacent the woodwork except at the corners where care must be exercised to avoid smearing the contiguous wall at the end of the protector.

In Fig.5 I have shown a second modified form of my improved protector. As is here shown, the protector is made of flat thin sheet metal, for example aluminum, having main protector strip I and auxiliary protector strip 2 of suitable length and width meeting at an angle a as already described. The flat strips are preferably stiffened with longitudinal ribs II and depressions l2 are stamped in the under side of strip 1 to receive the heads of the screws by which the handle is attached to it. With a thin metal strip such as here shown, without the turned-down edges 4, the junction of strips l and 2 must be rounded, as shown at B, to provide the necessary clearance for the more or less filletted plaster corners usually found. Moreover, for use with rounded corner walls found in hospitals,

for example, the fillet at B can be enlarged to accommodate. A protector may be made of plastic according to Fig. 4, but with strips I and 2 meeting in a filletted corner B as in Fig. 5, in which case both edges are bevelled.

I claim:

1. An L-shaped wall protector comprising a main relatively long generally plane element of resilient substantially rigid sheet material having one face adapted for contact with a wall and having its two long edges parallel, said edges being joined to the main body of said main element by edge portions turned toward said wall contact face through an acute angle from the main plane of said main element, a secondary relatively shorter generally plane element of similar sheet material resiliently substantially rigidly continuously joined to one end of said main element to extend back from said wall contact face, the plane'of said secondary element being substantially perpendicular to the plane of said main element and to said long edges, said secondary element having its face away from said main element adapted for contact with a wall and having two parallel edges joined to the main body of said secondary element by edge portions turned toward said wall contact face of said secondary element through an acute angle from the main plane of said secondary element, said secondary element parallel edges being each on a line intersecting and perpendicular to the line of intersection of said two planes and also intersecting the line of one of said long edges of said .main element, and a handle rigidly attached to the other face of said main plane.

2. A wall protector according to claim 1 in which the plane of the secondary'element intersects the plane of the main element at an angle of 95-105 degrees.

3. A wall protector according to claim 1 in which the adjacent edge portions of the main and secondary elements are discontinuous.

WILLIAM L. ALS'I'ON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 103,432 Disston May 24, 1870 292,247 Millett Jan. 22, 1884 407,143 Woodhull July 16, 1889 456,775 Prescott July 28, 1891 624,796 Hardin May 9, 1899 804,569 Watson Nov. 14, 1905 1,411,462 Wendt 'Apr. 4, 1922 1,491,693 Graham Apr. 22, 1924 2,098,005 Holt Nov; 2, 1937 2,212,073 Orth July 22, 1938 2,517,220 Lister Aug. 1, 1950 

